Spirited Excursion

Rebecca Salinas and Tom Adams stand in the banyan tree at the front of the Driftwood Inn which, is supposed to have registered high on paranormal scales. CHRISTINA TASCON PHOTO

Walking tour pulls back the curtain on Vero’s haunted past

BY CHRISTINA TASCON

Vero Beach’s Ocean Drive has its share of things that go bump in the night.

Want to feel the hairs on the back of your neck stand up or a hand brush your shoulder as you listen to ghostly tales of long dead pirates, bootleggers and an eccentric pioneer of Vero Beach?

Tom Adams grew up with a ghost or two in his family’s turn-of-the century home on Indian River Drive in Fort Pierce. In fact, the bizarre ethereal visits gave him a lifelong interest in ghosts and his love of history fueled his passion for the past. Now, he and his girlfriend, Rebecca Salinas, host Historical and Ghost Walking Tours along Ocean Drive where he entertains, educates and adds a richer dimension to local history.

“It started from an idea because of my interest in history, which I got from my father,’’ said Adams, 57. “I have gone on many ghost tours and I have always found them fascinating because that is where you find out the back stories of history. Everybody can read a history book and get the basic facts but this is where you find the underneath, the little secrets.’’